Tree treatment.



W. S. STERLING..

TREE TREATMENT. APrLmATIoN FILED xov.1. i912.

Patented Apr. 28, 19M

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/Nvmron Barner :5: lter] WITNESSES TORNEY.

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.. cavities will not beeo treatment is improperly.,

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y improper usually si arts in and often WARNER s. s'rnmznwor wns'rwoon, New JERSEY.

TREE TREATMENT.-

peeeationof Letters latent. Application filed November 1, 1912. Serial 110,728,969.

Patented Apr. 28, 191er.K

T oV all whom it'my'concern f Be it known that a' citizen of the United States of America, andfresiding at lVestwood, in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented new and useful Improvements in Tree Treatment, of which the specification. My invention relates particularly to the following is a l treatment of trees whiclrhave "been weakencd .by decay or injury. Y v Vhen trecsare injured for instance, by limbs being broken ofin accidentally or.by cutting or by `abrasion, decay results in the for: mation ofA cavities of considerable size. neglected the decay will usually .continue and aided bythe work of, ins'ects` and animals. often destroys tics, are treated `when s'lrallmfor instance, by cleaning, the use of. anti waterproofing an,

material, the mili )l1 o the 'cavity increases m"s1"/le apidly'. Sometimes these cavities start in small openings as for instance,where a smal l' 'limb has been olf andy the cavity is enlar mains largely orwholly inside t e trunk of the treev so that itis invisible or' scarcely noticeable. lVhen a cavity becomes of any size the tree is so weakened, tbatitis likely to be broken ofl' in a storm when thetree isl subjected ,to severe strains. This has been known for some .time and it has been customary to treat the cavities so as to prevent further decay. lVhen the cavities are small they are cleaned land {illed with cement so as to make thejcavity less noticeable and so as to prevent fungi, insects and animals from entering. lVhen acavity is of any great height reinforcing rods are sometimesl employed.4 By the Vmethods commonlyemployed an openingA at the edge of the cement forms. This permits the entry of water, insects and causes further decay In the larger cavities, diiculty-is often encountered' by reason of the cracking of the cement when the tree swayseonsiderably and the cement consequently falls out and the w'orkhas to he done over. AOf course addi tionalrenfoi'cement in the way Div-longitudinal rods maybe employed but I in'd that this does not 'alwaysavail largely, I believe because of a peculiar twisting movement to 'tlie, trec. lf these cavi-V in swaying.

ed and re-v a which trees are .subjected as they sway in the. wind. y

Itis my object tioned dilliculties ensive and readily applied means. A The com )lctc construction embodying the features o my invention is shown andidescribed herein but it will be obvious that in to avoid theA above menemployed and others omitted depending upon f. theconditions'met with in practieesuch if instance, astliesize and sliapeaed l ocatio n' 4 of the cavity relative to tliesize, sliapeand strength of the tree. i coi'isiderable length, the reinforcement wlll-t.

embedded in various.,posi tions throughout the cement.- Hoops or ringsof metalf will' be located in `the Acement close the tree's'o as in `effect to surround the c`e`'V nient andV reinforce itliorizontally.' 'This \or less inclined so'tliattheLtree tends to'twist These-hoops 'are `supi'por'ted in so the process of construction by lspi e's driven intoI the walls of the cavity. Reticulated4 metal such as 'wire'mesh or expanded nietalL is secured just back ofthe mouth of the .cavity for instance, by wood. This holds the 'cement .togfe'th'un 'across the mouth of the cavity andprevents it from falling out even if itV becomes cracked. It also serves as awall for the cement when filling the cavity. is of large diameter, -relative'to the trunk ot` the tree and especially if the cavityl extends down to near the ground, theopposite "side walls of the trunk are bolted together. 'By

other they resist the twisting of thetree around the cement. If tlle'cavlty extends' into the roots of the treeof course therein# forcements extend into the ground. ,The outer surfuccof the cement shaped to correspond with the general outof the bark around the cavity exposed.

line of the body o the tree leaving the edge' t has been customary to cover thecement and posedly for thepurpose of keeping out' the water but l havefound that this is the cause of a great deal ot' difficulty. It is.im poss1 ble to keep the edges of the sheet tight and the metailshec-t and into the wood and carry on their work without observation. Water different cases certain of the features may be g5 eonsist of cement with wires or s'tezelfrods to the weedof 75 `particularly useful where the' cavity is`more' nails driven ifito thvl a5 If the cavity 90 Yarranging these bolts so' lthat'they cross each 95 the edge of the bark with; metal'sheetssup-A 101 consequently insects work under the edges of 11` in the cavity is Alo( also works'in and causes decay. I accordingly apply a waterproofing compound to the outer surface of the cement and cover the edges of the bark'and the cement a'round'the cavityyvith asemi-plastic composition Awhich horizontal sectional view. F ig: 5, is a ver` tical 'sectional view showinga modification of the arrangement of the horizontal reinforcement` I At intervals are arranged horizontal hoops or rings 1`and 2of wire or rod. Each hoop is supported on a row of spikes 3 which are securely driven into the trunk around the '25 Wall of the cavity. Double rowsof spikes such as 3, 3 may be arranged at intervals as shown in Fig. 5 when additional horizontalreinforcement is required.

Vertical reinforcinor rods or Wires such as .4 and t are provided of a suitable number' and arranged inthe trunk to `give such adi ditional strenge as theparticular case l'in' hand mayrequire.

The side walls 5 and 6 of the trunk may' be connected by bolts suchas' .7, 8 and 9 which traverse the cavity as shown particularl' inFigs. 3 and 4. l

he reticulated sheet 10 of wire or metal lathis secured to the mouth ofthe cavity for instance by nails such as 11 driven into the wood within the cavity. A continuous strip of reticulated metal may be used ex'-A tending from the top tothe bottom of the cavity unless the cavity is too large. for the available metal lath, in which case of course, it will be'necessary to piece out the lath. The metal lath and hoops 1 and 2 are preferably arranged so that one hooprsuch asl is inside the lath andthe other hoop suchas 2 outside the lath so as toq better hold the parts in position. When the metal parts are in position; the lath being left loose at the top however to facilitate lfilling, the cementitious composition 12 consisting for n` stance of hydraulic cement,fsand, gravel or small stone is filled in. `Wliere the cavity does not lequire'a" great reinforcement, for

instance,'small cavities, a suitable filling of cement such as plasterY and light material employ Y i Y When the metal lth is fastened in place and the filling is completed, the outer sur.-

,face of the metal lath `isplastered to bring J5 the general outline of the cement out to the the outer face of the filling.

Such rund cork may be ladvantageously circumference of the body ofthe tree, see-f- Figs. 3 and-e1` which may be then Vtreated with a waterproofiing compound and the semi-plastic. material 1,3 applied Varound the edges 14 ofthe barkand the edges of the cement. By the term semi-plastic coating I mean, a coating which remains plastic and adhesivefor'a considerable period of time for instance sixmonths or a year without cracking olf and which may permit the bark to grow underneath and at the same time makes a waterproof joint between the Wood and the cement.

It will bel noted thatthe cementitious filling is practically monolithic and is held together vertically and horizontally and is anchored to the trunk, and its outer surface so reinforced, that although the tree may sway somewhat, the filling cannot become cracked and fall out. v

It willbe obvious that many changes may be made in'details of construction such as" the materialsemployed and the arrangement and certain elements may be omittedor others added without departing from the spirit or scope of myI invention it being intended that theterms employed the claims are of description 'rather lthan/limitation except so far as required by the prior art-.

What I claiinist- 1. A reinforcement for' the cavity ofatree, consisting of a filling-of -cementitious ma- Aterial within the cavity and horizontal rein- `forcing means extendin entirely around within thecementitibus inganddisposed 100 substantially' vwithin. the circumference of the cavity. y f l 2. A reinforcement. for' the cavity of a tree, consisting .of a'bodyof cementitious material WithinV the cavity and horizontal 106 reinforcing means extendingA entirely around the cementltious material within the circum ference of .the cayityA and consistin of rows` of spikes driven into the walls of t e cavity and continuous hoops adjacent the spikes, theA heads of the spikes being embedded in the cement. 3. A reinforcement fora cavityof a'tree, consisting of a filling ofoementitious material within the cavity with metallic Vreinforcements embedded in the said filling and a reticulatedinetal lath sccuredto the walls of the cavi around the edges of the filling and embed ed-in the cement just insideofv,

4. A reinforcement for a cavity of a-tree, consisting of a filling body of cement within the cavity and 'a sheet of rectic'ulated metal Asecured to the walls of the cavity atthe edges ofthe fillin and embedded in the 126 cement to prevent t e cement from cracking and froinfalling out.

. 5. A reinforcement for a cavity of a tree,

consisting of a filling of cementitious material Within the cavity, a reticulated metal 36.

lath secured to the walls of the cavityat the edges of the filling and embedded in the cement adjacent the outer surface of the same, and 'horizontal hoops extending around and embedded in the cement.

6. A reinforcement for a cavity of a tree, consisting of afilling of cementitious material within the cavity, a reticulated metal lath secured to the walls of the cavity at the edges of the filling and embedded in the cement adjacent the outer surface of the same, and horizontal hoops extending around and embedded .in the cement, some of said hoops extending outside of said metal lath.

7. A reinforcement for a cavity of a tree, consisting of a filling of cementitious material within the cavity, a reticulated metal lath secured to the Walls of the cavity at the edges of the filling and embedded in the cement adjacent the outer surface of the same and horlzontal hoops extending around and embedded in the cement, some of said hoops extending outside of said metal lath and some of said hoops extending entirely inside of said metal lath.

8. A reinforcement for a cavity of-a tree, consisting ota filling of cement Within the cavity extending outward to the mouth of the cavity with metal lath embedded in the cement adjacent the outer surface of the same at the mouth of the cavity and vertical reinforcing members embedded in the central portion of the cement.

9. A reinforcement for a cavity of a tree consisting of a filling of cement within the cavity extending outward to the mouth of the cavity and having metal lath embedded in the cement` adjacent the outer surface of the same at'the'mouth of the cavity and horizontal reinforcing bolts assing:through opposite walls of the trun andcrbssing each other and embedded in the cement.

10. A reinforcement for a cavity of a tree consisting of a filling of cement within the cavity, horizontal reinforcement in the oement to prevent twisting and metal lath embedded in the cement and attached to the walls of thecavity at the edges of the filling.

11. A reinforcement forI a cavity of a tree, consisting of a filling of cement Within the cavity, horizontally arranged reinforcing hoops extending entirely around substantially the entire body of the cement lling and horizontal, bolts extending through opposite Walls of the cavity and embedded in the cement between said horizontal hoops.

WARNER S. STERLING.

Witnesses:

K. S. ALLYN, y E. BRADFORD. 

